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5 Excuses to Indulge in YOU Time

YOU time. We all know it’s something we should schedule but it seems so selfish to focus on ourselves for even an hour a week when we have so many other things we have to do. Meeting clients, making calls, cleaning house, doing laundry, shopping, taking kids to school, baking for the community fundraiser, getting in exercise, whew! Besides, isn’t taking time just for me an extravagance?

Taking time to focus on you is what I call recharging your batteries. If batteries in our electronic devices don’t get recharged periodically, they stop working. At first, they may just start to slow down or act erratically. Eventually, they stop working all together. Sound familiar? When was the last time you ended up getting sick after pushing yourself too hard for too long?

Sometimes we need to trick that little voice in our heads by giving it a great “excuse” for why it’s ok to indulge in time for ourselves. Here are 5 GREAT “excuses” to indulge in YOU time!

5 Excuses to Indulge in YOU Time

Strengthen Willpower – When we have taken time for ourselves, our willpower gets stronger. We are able to resist more of the temptations and distractions that keep us from reaching our goals.

Build Immune System – Getting sick is your body’s way of saying your batteries have died. Wouldn’t you rather spend the 2 or 3 days you usually spend sick taking a few hours a week to nurture your body, mind and soul?

Increase Productivity – Electronics work better when fully charged and so do our bodies. Get more done in less time by taking time out for you.

Boost your Positive Attitude – Do you tend to get overwhelmed by negative thoughts? Taking time out for you allows you to gain more control over your thoughts and redirect them when necessary.

Have a Reason – When we spend days, weeks and months on end focused on other people and other things, we tend to forget why we are doing what we do. We get depressed and begin to think that we’ll never get “our turn”. Giving ourselves a chance to take time for ourselves weekly allows us to have a reason and reconnect with our WHY.

When you understand the power of taking care of you, you will begin to see how it can affect every area of your life. Taking care of you fosters more abundance, wealth and happiness!

Success Steps

You now know WHY you should schedule time for yourself and you have very good reasons for doing so. Now what’s the HOW?

Schedule at least one hour every week to do something that is focused only on you. I’ve been asked regularly if family time counts. Only if family times give you an opportunity to recharge and feel better after than you did before. I’m also asked regularly why a vacation doesn’t count. Think of your cell phone. Would the battery last any longer if you left it to charge for a week as opposed to just charging it for a few hours? Of course not. We aren’t meant to go that long between recharges.

Make the time to do something you truly enjoy. It could be meditating, reading, shopping (as long as it doesn’t interfere with a goal to get out of debt), getting a massage or working on a hobby. Whatever works best for you.

Put your date with yourself on your calendar FIRST! And don’t let anything (except a life or death situation) allow you to reschedule. If you cancel one week, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you allow yourself to cancel a second week. I don’t care if your spouse is in the hospital on life support. If he or she is in longer than a week, then it is absolutely critical for you to take some time to care for yourself in order to better care for them.

It’s not always easy to make time for ourselves on a weekly basis but it is one of the most important things you can do for your long term success and happiness.

How often do you “indulge” in you time?

What is your favorite way to recharge your batteries?

Nicole has scaled her own personal mountain to climb out of ordinary. For over 20 years, Nicole Bandes has studied the most effective methods to increase happiness and success in her own life and in business. She has gone on to helped thousands of people in their own personal journeys to reach their goals.
Contact Nicole if you are ready to stop being ordinary and have a guided tour to reach your summit of success.

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8 Comments

I am very lucky that my Sabath requires cessation from work. It’s a time for prayer (which you may call meditation), sharing with family and friends (our Friday night dinners are legendary- and not only because they end in the wee hours of the morning), and time with family and self….
I vote that 1 hour is not nearly enough- unless it’s every single day.

Nicole Bandes

May 9, 2012 at 9:51 am PST

I would whole-heartedly agree but one hour is an incredible amount of time for those that never take time for themselves! If it is focused time, it can go a long way. You are very fortunate to have such wonderful traditions in place!

GREAT post Nicole! My husband & I literally JUST did exactly that–we went to the beach & had a kid-free weekend 🙂 The chaos of every day life is a good enough excuse for me lol. I came back more focused & ready than ever, too!